Music
Music at DWJS
At Darrick Wood Junior we are extremely proud of the breath of music-making opportunities that are available to our children.
Almost a quarter of the school have music lessons and they are given opportunities to play together in groups for school events. We are fortunate to have a purpose-built room for our music lessons. It is very well resourced with an extensive range of percussion instruments, including steel pans. All Year 3 children participate in a weekly recorder lesson, and a whole school singing assembly is held each week where the children learn songs in a variety of styles.
A music concert is held every year to celebrate the varied musical talents of the children. This concert is also a culmination of two competitions that we run in school. The Norman Trotman Cup is awarded to the best instrumentalist and the John Austin Cup is presented to the best solo singer.
At Christmas a Carol Service is held at St. Paul’s Church, Crofton, when our singing club and various instrumental groups take a leading role. There are different clubs which meet at lunchtimes, including our popular singing club.
Performances in recent years have included the ‘Young Voices’ concert at the O2 and performances at the Bromley Schools' Prom. At Christmas time they also sing to, and chat with the residents at local sheltered accommodation, which is greatly appreciated by residents.
As part of the Government’s Wider Opportunities Scheme all the children in Year 3 currently learn the recorder. As a continuation of this we have been running the ‘Band on the Run project’ in partnership with Bromley Youth Music Trust for many years now, with great success. Recently our school senior band- numbering over 30 children from year 5 and 6, were selected to play at a showcase event at the South Bank Centre. As well as performing in school concerts and events such as the Summer Fair, the Band has played in front of the Mayor.
Music Provision/National Curriculum Music
Our curriculum provides the children with opportunities to make music, play and perform with instruments and to begin to understand music theory.
In keeping with the 2014 National Curriculum, our class music lessons aim to ensure that all pupils:
- perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions, including the works of the great composers and musicians.
- learn to sing and to use their voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others.
- have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence
- understand and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.
End of Key Stage expectations:
At Darrick Wood Junior School, pupils are taught to sing and play musically with increasing confidence and control. They develop an understanding of musical composition, organising and manipulating ideas within musical structures and reproducing sounds from aural memory.
Pupils should be taught to:
- play and perform in solo and ensemble contexts, using their voices and playing musical instruments with increasing accuracy, fluency, control and expression.
- improvise and compose music for a range of purposes using the inter-related dimensions of music.
- listen with attention to detail and recall sounds with increasing aural memory
- use and understand staff and other musical notations
- appreciate and understand a wide range of high-quality live and recorded music drawn from different traditions and from great composers and musicians
- develop an understanding of the history of music.
Drama and Performance
All pupils will have the opportunity to take part in school performances during their time at Darrick Wood Junior School.
Year 3 are responsible for the Christmas Production. Year 6 put on an excellent end of year production, including in recent years, Peter Pan, Victorian Music Hall, Terrific Trafalgar and Matilda.
This is in addition to their annual class Assembly to which parents are invited.